Belt conveyer



Aug. 2, 1949. w. H. FARR ET AL BELT CONVEYER 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 28, 1944 Aug. 2, 1949. w. H. FARR ET AL BELT CONVEYER 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed OCt. 2B, 1944 INVENTORS Warrenhhf'ar; l Carolus Lgergwno/ Clarenceupon? a" 5y M WJ fvwm/5y Aug. 2, 1949. w.v H. FARR ET AL BELT coNvEYER 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 28, 1944 gwn Clar nceu onmd BY H7 .HTTOENEY Aug. 2, 1949. w. H. FARR ET AL BELT CONVEYER Filed Oct. 28, 1944 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 and Aug. 2, 1949. w. H. FARR ET AL,

BELT, CONVEYER 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 28, 1944 nw .nm Y www@ M map M VF u main, 2,5% E S P u rz amr Wam CC Aug. 2, 1949. w. H. FARR ET Al.

BELT oo'NvEYER Filed Oct. 28, 1944 6 Shee'os-SheetI 6 6 nd 5w 5mm y M@ E T w r 0 N e R mas@ 0 l? f E l W H H 507 Le g n? mZ n ro. Wmme Pam@ Alle. 2,

sans 1 nEL'r conversa Warren H. Farr, Grosse Pointe Farms, and Carolus L. Ekaergian and Clarence E. Dupont. Detroit, Mich., assignors to The Budd Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application October 28. 1944,A Serial No. 560,884

3 claims.' (ci. 19a- 115) This invention relates to belt conveyors and has for an object the provision of improvements in this art. Y y

One of the particular objects is to provide a belt conveyor with adjustable lointed sections which maintain the continuity of movement of material past the joint.

Another object is to provide a jointed foldable single-belt conveyor which will keep the belt tight in any adjusted position.

The above-mentioned and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of an exemplary embodiment thereof,l reference being made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a-side elevation of a belt conveyor embodying the y invention, showing the sections raised, in solid lines, and folded, in dotted lines;

Figure 21s an inclined section taken on theline 2-2 of Figure 1; y

Figure 3 is a partial enlarged side elevation of parts shown at the left side of Figure i;

Figure 4 is a vertical section taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 3;`

Figure 5 is a top plan view of the parts shown in Figure 3; y

Figure 6 is a vertical longitudinal section through the entire conveyor with parts ofthe conveyor sections cut out to shorten the view;

Figure 7 is a vertical section taken .on the line I-'i of Figure 6;

Figure 8 is an enlarged transverse section taken on the line 8-'8 of Figure 8;

Figure'9 is a vertical section through the lower end of the conveyor and a hopper secured there- Figure 10 is a front end elevation of the assembly shown in Figure 9;

Figure 11 is a vertical transverse section taken on the line li-Ii of Figure 9; s

Figure 12 is a longitudinal section taken on the line l2i2 of Figure 9;

Figure 13 is a partial transverse vertical section taken on the line iii-I3 of Figure 9; and

Figure 14 is a partial vertical section taken on the line II-il of Figure 9.

The illustrated apparatus comprises a lower or main conveyor section I provided with caster wheels 2 at the front or lower end and wheels 3 at the rear end. The front wheels 2 are mounted on supports l which are pivoted to the frame of the section I on a horizontal shaft 5. The supports l may be made runitary by transverse elements if necessary. The rear wheels 3 are mounted on an axle 6 carried by long struts I which are pivoted at their upper ends on a shaft 8 to the sides of the frame of the section I.

The rear wheels 3 can be moved forward or backward relative to the front wheels to raise and lower the upper end of the conveyor section I, the relative movement of the wheels being accomplished by a pair of cables 9 which are attached at the rear end to the axle 6 and at the front end to drums I il secured to a shaft II of a ratchet winch. Through suitable gearing the shaft Il and drums il! are turned by a ratchet shaft I2 provided with a handle la. The cables 9 are guided to the drums ill by sheaves it.

The front wheel supports t are maintained in the correct position relative to the ground during the raising and lowering of the conveyor section I by any suitable means, the means illustrated comprising for each a curved rack 'i5 secured on the support concentric with the shaft 5 and a meshing gear I6 of suitable size carried on the shaft Ii.

The conveyor section I, the wheels 2 and S, the supports 4, the struts l and the cables 9 thus form a vehicle which can be transported, as by a tractor, and used wherever needed. -During transit the conveyor is preferably folded down on the rear axle to take all strains off the cables.

To the upper end of the lower section i there is hinged, las by a shaft l1, an upper conveyor belt section iB. ranged to be raised and lowered by cables I9 which .are attached by bolts 2t to the section frame at a distance from the hinge axis. The cables i9 pass over sheaves 2l, 22 on the frame of the lower section and are attached to drums 23 which are mounted for free rotation on the shaft 5. The drums 23 are geared to'pinions 24 on a ratchet shaft 25 operated by a crank handle 2B. 1

Theupper section I8 swings around beneath the lower section i when not in use and is se` cureiy latched in the folded position by suitable latch means, not shown. The upper section is provided with forks 21 which in the folded and lowered position, as shown in dotted lines in Figure l, are adapted to embrace and rest upon the axle 6. This takes the load oil' cables 9. The lower section I must be raisedsuiilciently to permit the end of section I8 to swing above the axle 6 when the upper section is folded or unfolded. The upper section may be pushed against the lower section by hand to latch. When released, it swings away by gravity to .a position where the cables I9 are eective for rais ing and lowering it. In the folded conditionl The upper section I8 is ar-1 per), and has a, close turning nt with the trough of the other section.

Rails I2 on the sides of the troughs support the upper reaches of the side chain belt loops 33 of a conveyor belt 34. 'Ihe belt 34 extends the full length of both conveyor sections I and I8, passing over sprockets 35 on a shaft 3i at the lower end of the lower section, over sprockets 31 on a shaft Il at the upper end of the upper section, and intermedlately over sprockets 39 on the hinge shaft I1 between the sections.

The conveyor belt 34 includes ights or transverse elements which move material up the troughs 3l. The ilights may be of any desired type suited for the material to be handled. Here plate flights 4l, bucket flights 4I and spikes 42 are illustrated. The plates and bucketsare adapted to raise granular material and the spikes are adapted to raise bulk or baled material. The plates or buckets are more or less equivalents of each other and either alone might be used. 'I'he plates have the more general use and if they t the sides of the trough closely, with flexible edges preferably, they can raise fine material suchas grain, sand and the like, The spikes 42 may be of any height desired, depending on the type of material to be handled.

When the buckets 4I are used they may be provided with cam pins 43 at one or both ends, which pins cooperate with a cam 44 at the lower end to cause the buckets to scoop material from a feed hopper 45 and with a cam 46 at the upper end to cause the buckets to discharge material. The trough Il may be supplemented by extension plates 34aon the sides for retaining bulk material such as hay, loose or baled.

The lower sprocketV shaft 3i is mounted on slide frames 41 adjusted on rods 48 to tighten the conveyor belt. Set screws 49 hold the frames 41 in adjusted positions along the rods 48. The trough 3l is jointed, as shown in Figures 5, 6, 9 and 11 to change length, as required.

'The conveyor belt is driven by a motor M of pivoted by a Din Il to a rod 4i which is attached to the lug Il and passes through a guide hole in the lug Il.

As shown in Figure 8, the rails 32 for the conveyor chains are supported by sleeves 61 upon cross members 4l of the section frames. The rails are held down by bolts 69. The heads of the bolts are concealed by a wooden core strip 1li upon which the metal portion of the rail is secured.l

Means are provided for keeping the conveyor belt 34 at approximately uniform tension throughout all movements of the upper section any suitable character through appropriatedrive 4 connections. The connections here shown comprise a sprocket Il on shaft 36 driven by a chain belt II from a sprocket 52 carried fast with a pulley II which is rotatably mounted on the shaft l on which the conveyor section I is hinged.l A V-belt I4 drives the pulley il from the motor pulley 5l.

The motor M is adjustably mounted upon a plate li carried by a support 4, whereby the belt I4 may be tightened or slacked to drive the conveyor belt at will. Specifically, the motor M is provided with projections l1 which extend through slots 5l in the plate, the projections being held down by retainers 50 passed through holes in the projections beneath the plate. Between upstanding lugs 6l and 6I on the motor base and plate respectively adjusting means are provided, the means here shown comprising a spring Y I8 relative to the lower section I, the means herein shown comprising idler sprockets 1I and 12 mounted beneath the conveyor sections I and I8 respectively near. the hinge shaft I1. The sprockets 1I are mounted nearer the axis of shaft I1 than sprockets 12 and when the conveyor sec tions are fully folded, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 1, the lower reach of the conveyor belt is folded'back over the sprockets 1I, the sprockets 12 being disposed within the bend thus formed. In the partially and fully open positions the lower reach of the conveyor belt meshes with the lower side of the sprockets 3l. As the sections are folded the upper reach of the conveyor belt folds more andlmore around the sprockets I9 and this takes up any slack which tends to form in the lower reach of the belt.

Means are provided for turning the rear wheels 3 relative to their axle 8 and locking them in any turned position, the means here provided including a king pin 13 between the axle and the wheel spindle and a sector 14 carried by the wheel spindle which is secured in adjusted positions to the axle by a pin 15 entering one of a number of holes in the sector. The wheels may be turned into longitudinal alignment, as for transporting the conveyor; or may both be turned in parallel at an angle, as for moving the rear end of .the conveyor sidewise; or may be moved at opposite angles for preventing movement in any direction.

The hopper 45 includes a trough 16 of arcuate shape disposed beneath the lower conveyor belt shaft .36, through which the buckets 4I are adapted t0 pass to pick up material. The hopper also includes an open-topped funnel-like box 11 into which material is charged, the box having a floor-like partition 1l provided with a valve plate 19 to regulate the size of thevopening u through which material flows to the conveyor belt. The hopper is preferably formed in two or more parts. here in two parts comprising a trough 1i and the feed box 11, both mounted on the heavy front cross bar Il and other vparts of the section frame I. 'I'he box 11 is shown to have side brackets 82 attached to another portion of the section frame.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the lower section I is provided on each side with a guide which guides engage the sides of parallel struts 1 to prevent swaying. Stops 84 are provided to limit the raising of the lower section to say about 55 degrees and also prevent undue shortening of the wheel base.

It is thus seen that the invention provides very simple and effective means for elevating material, for raising the lower conveyor section about a tiltable support without tilting the support, for

raising and lowering an upper conveyor section independently of the movement of the lower section and for moving the lower section without changing the position of the upper section relative thereto. for hinging the upper Section o n the Alower without changing the elevation by understood that there may be various embodiments within the limits of the prior art and the \scope of the subjoined claims.

What is claimed is:

a rst conveyor section, a second conveyor section hinged to one end of the rst section, a belt guide pulley mounted on the hinge axis between sections, a conveyor` belt passing along the conveying surface of said sections and over said pulley, and returning on the opposite side of the pulley, and belt guide elements on each of said sections near the hinge line and located on the said opposite side of the pulley, the guide elements being located at different distances from the hinge line measured along the' length of the sections such that one passes the other when the sections are folded together toward the return side of the belt, and said elements being so constructed and arranged as to cause the belt to wrap therearound as the sections are folded together.

2. A belt conveyor comprising in combination, a rst conveyor section,v a second conveyor section hinged to one end of the rst section, a belt guide pulley mounted on the hinge axis between sections, a conveyor belt passing along the conveying surface of both of said sections and over said pulley and returning on the opposite side of the hinge pulley, and belt guide elements located on the said opposite side of the pulley,

'one of said guide elements being mounted on each of said sections at a distance from the .hinge line measured along the length of the sections, and said elements being so constructed and arranged as to cause the belt to wrap therel. A belt conveyor Vcomprising in combination,-

around as one section is swung relative to the other about the hinge line, said guide elements being so located and arranged as to place the return portion of the conveyor belt in vengagement with the said opposite side of said pulley when the said sections are in alignment and to 6 remove the belt from the said opposite side of the pulley when the sections are folded together. y 3. A belt conveyor comprising in combination, a first conveyor section, a second conveyor section hinged to one end of the first section', a' belt guide pulley mounted on the hinge axis between sections, a conveyor belt passing along the conveying surface of both of said sections and over said pulley and returning on the opposite side of the hinge pulley, and belt guide elements located on the said opposite side of the pulley, one of said guide elements being mounted on each of said sections at a distan-ce from the hinge line measured along the length of the sections, and said elements being so constructed and arranged as to cause the belt to wrap therearound as one section is swung relative to the other about the hinge line, said guide elements being formed as idler pulleys and being located nearer to the said axis than the said opposite side of said hinge pulley to cause the return portion of said belt to engage the said opposite side of said hinge pulley when the sections are in alignment and to remove the return portion of the belt from the hinge pulley and to carry it on the idler guide pulleys when the sections are folded together.

WARREN H. FARR.

CAROLUS L. EKSERGIAN.

CLARENCE E. DUPONT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the Vfile of this patent;

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

